End of Commitment Report – Innovation eco-systems and new alliance models

Name of Evaluator

Asociación GIGAPP

Email

info2@gigapp.org

Member Name

Aragón, España

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Aragón, Spain, 2021 – 2023

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Innovation eco-systems and new alliance models

Action

To drive Aragonese public, private and social organisations towards networking by creating a network of innovative organisations that jointly implement projects with transformative potential. At least 20 organisations are expected to join this network during the lifetime of the plan, which will be promoted by the public sector through the LAAAB.The LAAAB has developed a proprietary innovation model, known as Modelo HIP – Hexágono de Innovación Pública [HIP Model – Hexagon of Public Innovation] (https://modelohip.net/), which fosters the transformation of hierarchical organisations into networked ones via six vectors: Open, Trans, Fast, Proto, Co and Tec, and offers support through change facilitators and educational workshops on re-designing services and the HIP Model for organisations that so request.Citizen laboratories also play an important role in the model, so they will be promoted by the LAAAB and their projects will be placed online to make it possible to support and implement them.

Problem

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the need for more flexible, streamlined and resilient institutional architectures that are capable of incorporating the energyEnsuring universal access to sustainable, dependable, and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of prosperity. Increasing public oversight and transparency in the energy sector can help to ens... More of civil society to learn from their talent and creativity, bringing the public (activists, entrepreneurs, association networks, academia, makers, etc.) into the spotlight not only in decision-making but also in the design and implementation of strategies. Public institutions and social organisations need to be redesigned to respond to these new challenges, and the transition towards networked, open, democratic organisations is more paramount than ever.Alliances among the public, private and social spheres are currently lacking due to limited communication and connections between them and a lack of common goals. Under these circumstances, how can institutions, which prioritise hierarchy and closed organisational structures, innovate in order to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and solve citizens’ actual issues?

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Complete

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The general assessment of this commitment shows a level of substantial compliance, being of course, a commitment that breaks down key actions to consolidate the physical and virtual space of the LAAAB as the primary part of the governmental openness and public innovation strategy of Aragón, from where its main or most notable projects and initiatives are structured. It stands out for its value and contribution to government opening, the development of teaching materials linked to the HIP methodology, the development of the Virtual LAAAB, and the service redesign workshops under the HIP methodology.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

• Implementation Assessment – OGP Aragon 2021-2023

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

As mentioned previously, an aspiration associated with this commitment consisted of moving towards “more flexible, agile and resilient institutional architectures, which are capable of incorporating all civil energy to learn from their talent and creativity, giving greater prominence to citizens (activists, entrepreneurs, associative fabric, academia, makers…) not only in decision-making but also in the design and implementation of strategies”.
It is clear that, with the LAAAB, this aspiration has been achieved. The LAAAB, as a model of government openness, is called to offer that space for participation and innovation that articulates citizen energy, not only in Aragon but towards the rest of the country and beyond, as well as consolidate this space and its ecosystems. Over the years, the LAAAB of the Government of Aragon has acquired international recognition (nomination of the LAAAB as a finalist for the Innovation in Politics Awards and winner for the Frena la Curva initiative in the COVID-19 Strategies category).
Through its work and projects, it can be said that the LAAAB Aragón has been able to deploy changes in the government’s usual practice, not only through the products directly associated with its initiatives but through the very existence of this space and ecosystem that opens the government from within. This has only been achieved through the search for consolidation of its networks and alliances, the expansion and improvement of its physical and virtual infrastructure, with the development of its methodological tools and materials.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

Most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned.

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The general assessment of this commitment shows a level of substantial compliance, 5 completed, 2 with substantial progress and one more not started. Being, of course, a commitment that breaks down key actions to consolidate the physical and virtual space of the LAAAB as the essential part of the government opening and public innovation strategy of Aragon, from which its main or most notable projects and initiatives are structured.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Implementation Assessment – OGP Aragon 2021-2023

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Regarding the development of an exhibition space that provides greater transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More to the visitor about the LAAAB and its missionary work, although this type of improvement does not change government practice, the monitoring body values ​​this step as positive, given that any improvement in the space physical space of the LAAAB will have a favorable impact on greater capacities for impact and effectiveness in the celebration of its activities, more capacity to host events, workshops, and better conditioning of the physical space.

A notable effort was also made to identify and make available on the Hexágono de Innovación Pública web portal a total of 175 social innovation projects from 22 countries, of which 74 are from Spain.

Virtual spaces were enabled that would allow the LAAAB to operate in the full COVID-19 context.

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The project to promote citizen laboratories stands out as a genuine participatory space where citizen responses to complex problems can be articulated.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Implementation Assessment – OGP Aragon 2021-2023

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Not Applicable

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

This commitment does not include projects or milestones linked to public accountabilityAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, public accountability occurs when ”rules, regulations, and mechanisms in place call upon government actors to justify their actions, act upon criticisms ... More.

2.1.4 Other Results

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The report shows that the space called LAAAB has been able to articulate a large number of projects (initiatives) and activities (milestones) of relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic... for the promotion of opening agendas, as well as for the promotion of social innovation projects, as an inclusive space, transparent and collaborative. The consolidation actions of this LAAAB have allowed us to connect points and strengthen the work within. of the same.
Attached is a questionnaire prepared by the monitoring entity on the LAAAB.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Questionnaire

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

An aspiration associated with this commitment consisted of moving towards “more flexible, agile and resilient institutional architectures, which are capable of incorporating all civil energy to learn from their talent and creativity, giving greater prominence to citizens (activists, entrepreneurs, associative fabric). , academia, makers…) not only in decision-making but also in the design and implementation of strategies”.

It is clear that, with the LAAAB, this aspiration has been achieved. The LAAAB, as a model of government openness, is called to offer that space for participation and innovation that articulates citizen energy, not only in Aragon but towards the rest of the country and beyond, as well as consolidate this space and its ecosystems. Over the years, the LAAAB of the Government of Aragon has acquired international recognition – LAAAB nomination as a finalist for the Innovation in Politics Awards and winner of the Frena la Curva initiative.

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

The Laboratory (LAAAB) stands out for its focus on creating a public innovation ecosystem through collaboration in international networks. Despite its current centrality, it is proposed to decentralize its actions so that the LAAAB is one of several protagonists at the national, European, or Latin American level. The strategy includes a territorial structure associated with the autonomous area but also seeks to cross borders and build global networks.

A key recommendation is to intensify the LAAAB’s virtual presence while maintaining in-person events and use its methodology based on the HIP model. In addition, it is suggested that exhibitions on public innovation be held outside the LAAAB, such as at the headquarters of the Government of Aragon, to give visibility to the work carried out in the autonomous community.

The monitoring entity highlights the importance of the HIP Model as a crucial step but suggests evaluating the results and impacts derived from its application. Along with this methodology, the value of the team of collaborators and institutional allies of the LAAAB is highlighted, which has successfully led innovative projects, integrating various agendas and groups.

Finally, the high-level political support received during the implementation of the First Action Plan is recognized, as being fundamental for advances in transparency and openness. The support endorsed by the General Directorate of Institutional Relations, External Action, and Transparency, guarantees the continuity of the LAAAB as a European benchmark in public innovation, with the promise of continuing to develop programs such as Aspasia, VisualGOB, and others in the future.